Washington coach Ron Rivera met with the media on Monday and offered an update on tight end Logan Thomas. And, per Rivera, the news wasn’t as bad as the team initially feared.
“There is some damage there. It’s not as extensive as we first thought, so we’re sending for a few more tests just to make sure, and we’ll go from there,” Rivera said, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post. “So we’re still waiting on a little bit more of an evaluation, but it is a little more positive than we first anticipated.”
Thomas was injured in the fourth quarter of Washington’s 17-15 win over the Raiders when defensive end Yannick Ngakoue went low on Thomas. Washington initially feared a torn ACL and MCL, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
When asked if Thomas tore his ACL, Rivera offered the following response:
“That right now is the thing that seems to be positive, that he didn’t,” he said. “And we’re just waiting to get confirmation and we want to make sure we don’t get ahead of it or anything like that.”
While Rivera ruled out a torn ACL, it does appear Thomas will miss some time. Perhaps later this week, Washington will receive a more firm timeline on how much time Thomas will miss.
David Chao, a former NFL team doctor and an orthopedic surgeon mentioned a bone bruise as a possibility for Thomas.
Worry for bone bruise for #LoganThomas
Likely multi-weeks but still chance for return late season. https://t.co/v2ewOGR4yu— David J. Chao – ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) December 6, 2021
Even if Thomas misses several weeks, it’s good news compared to what Washington feared on Sunday night. It also rules out a long and grueling rehab process for Thomas.
Now, Washington hopes to get its top tight end back at some point this season with NFC East games remaining.